clemency

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Woman Granted Clemency by Obama Is Back in Prison

Carol Denise Richardson was among 1.7K inmates freed during Obama's tenure

(Newser) - A Texas woman serving a life sentence for a relatively minor drug offense and given a second chance by President Obama is headed back to prison. Carol Denise Richardson, 49, was among hundreds of non-violent drug offenders granted clemency by Obama, who was persuaded by arguments from activists that drug...

Serial Killer's Push for Freedom: I'm a 'Better Person'

75-year-old Richard Steeves says he's overcome his 'violent, unpredictable past'

(Newser) - Richard Steeves is 75 years old, plays the piano, and has just one wish in life. But as Bob Hohler details for the Boston Globe , that wish—freedom—is complicated by the fact that Steeves is a convicted serial killer who's been in prison for three decades. Hohler has...

Assange: On Second Thought, Extradition a No-Go

Assange's lawyer says WikiLeaks founder wanted full clemency for Chelsea Manning

(Newser) - On second thought, Julian Assange won't be traveling to the US after all. Back in September, the WikiLeaks founder had said he would agree to extradition to the US if Chelsea Manning was pardoned, the Hill reports. Well, on Tuesday President Obama commuted the majority of Manning's 35-year...

Obama Issues Record Wave of Clemencies

Pardons 78, shortens sentence of 153 others

(Newser) - President Barack Obama has pardoned 78 people and shortened the sentence of 153 others convicted of federal crimes, the greatest number of individual clemencies in a single day by any president, the White House said Monday. Obama has been granting commutations at rapid-fire pace in his final months in office,...

Chelsea Manning Petition Hits White House Threshold

Administration has 60 days to respond

(Newser) - A petition urging President Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence to time served has passed the 100,000-signature threshold that may require an official response from the White House—though Obama is only going to be there for another 38 days. "We did it! Thank you so much...

Even the Judge Thinks This Woman's Sentence Is 'Idiotic'

He's now fighting for clemency for Lori Kavitz

(Newser) - Lori Kavitz's 24-year sentence for conspiracy to distribute meth has been called "idiotic, arbitrary, unduly harsh, and grossly unfair"—by the very man who imposed it. US District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett is one of thousands asking President Obama to pardon Kavitz, whose "major mistake...

Man Turns Down Obama's Offer to Get Out of Prison

Arnold Jones would rather stay longer in prison than enter drug treatment

(Newser) - Arnold Jones was one of more than 29,000 drug offenders who asked President Obama to commute their sentence. But when he was granted executive clemency in August, he turned it down. USA Today delved into the unusual story when it noticed the White House listed only 774 commuted sentences...

Obama to Free 42 More Inmates Serving Time on Drug Charges

He's commuted more sentences than the past 7 presidents combined

(Newser) - On Friday, President Obama announced 42 non-violent drug offenders—20 of them currently serving life sentences—will be released from prison in the coming year, the Huffington Post reports. According to a White House press release , they were put away "under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws" and "...

Clemency Under Obama Can Be a Cruel Lottery

'It was devastating'

(Newser) - President Obama's clemency program is a gift to dozens of nonviolent drug offenders, but it's a lump of coal for thousands more. The Washington Post takes a deep look into how clemency is affecting prisoners who remain behind bars, after 95 of their fellows were given a second...

Man Freed After 3 Decades in Prison Calls It 'Surreal'

He had his 100-year murder sentence commuted by Montana's governor

(Newser) - A Montana man who spent three decades behind bars for a murder he says he did not commit walked out of prison Friday after the governor granted his clemency request. Barry Beach, 53, told reporters gathered outside the Montana State Prison's front door that the moment was "surreal....

Battered Woman to Stay in Jail Until 2030 for BF's Abuse

Tondalo Hall denied clemency in Oklahoma for not protecting kids from partner

(Newser) - Tondalo Hall wasn't accused of abusing her two young children but was handed a 30-year sentence for failing to protect them from her abusive boyfriend. Her partner, meanwhile, nabbed a plea deal and served just two years for breaking the ribs and femur of their 3-month-old infant; he was...

How the Pope Could Save This Killer on Death Row

Lidia Guerrero hopes Francis will intervene on behalf of son

(Newser) - When Lidia Guerrero met with Pope Francis in Rome last year, he told her he knew all about Guerrero's son, who has been on death row in Texas for 19 years. "I've prayed so much for that young man," she says Francis told her. The short...

Obama Doubles Drug Commutations in a Day

He shortens 22 'outdated' sentences

(Newser) - A bold move from the president dubbed " one of the least merciful " in US history: President Obama commuted the sentences of 22 drug offenders yesterday, more than doubling the number of commutations he has issued during his presidency, reports USA Today , which notes that it was the biggest...

Battered Woman Serving Longer Sentence Than Her Abuser
Battered Woman Serving Longer Sentence Than Her Abuser
INVESTIGATION
Nov 12, 2014 3:30 PM CST

Battered Woman Serving Longer Sentence Than Her Abuser

Convicted for 'allowing' ex to abuse their child

(Newser) - Tondalo Hall was allegedly being abused by her boyfriend, Robert Braxton Jr. Yet when Braxton broke the ribs and femur of their 3-month-old daughter, he served just two years in prison, while Hall was sentenced to 30 years for allowing the abuse to happen. She was one of 28 mothers...

Thousands of Drug Offenders Get New Shot at Clemency

White House calls for 'justice, fairness, proportionality'

(Newser) - Thousands of nonviolent drug offenders now serving long sentences in federal prisons could receive clemency from President Obama under a major Department of Justice overhaul. Attorney General Eric Holder announced yesterday that "a larger field of eligible individuals" will be eligible for clemency under new guidelines and the administration...

Assad May Be Offered Clemency Deal

Syrian leader could get invite to Geneva peace talks

(Newser) - To end the conflict in Syria, American and British officials are considering offering Bashar al-Assad safe passage to peace talks in Geneva and a chance to avoid being prosecuted for his regime's crimes against civilians if he gives up power, according to the Guardian . "It is hard to...

Troy Davis: I Want to Take a Polygraph Test

In effort to save him, Georgia Democrats urge prison strike

(Newser) - Troy Davis is hours from death, but he’s not giving up. The Georgia death row inmate, who claims he was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer in 1989, wants to take a polygraph test. "Mr. Davis believes he is innocent and he wants to show it,"...

Georgia Refuses to Spare Troy Davis' Life

Decision means tomorrow's execution will likely occur

(Newser) - Troy Davis will die tomorrow. Georgia's pardons board today rejected a last-ditch plea for clemency for the death row inmate, despite calls from the likes of Pope Benedict, Amnesty International, and Jimmy Carter for his sentence to be commuted. The panel announced its decision after hearing hours of testimony...

For Felon Mayor-Elect, Redemption Is Denied

Small town OK with past, Ariz. board isn't

(Newser) - Christopher Linder persuaded the people of a small Oklahoma town to elect him as their mayor despite his criminal past, but he couldn't persuade a clemency board in Arizona to scrub his felony convictions. The 33-year-old former gang member, convicted of transporting marijuana and taking part in a drive-by...

Hiker Can't Go Free: Iran
 Hiker Can't Go Free: Iran 
Sep 11, 2010 5:50 AM CDT

Hiker Can't Go Free: Iran

About-face on Ahmadinejad's clemency indicates internal friction

(Newser) - Iranian authorities abruptly halted plans to release an American woman today after more than a year in jail with two friends, dashing their mothers' hopes and pointing to the internal rivalries within Iran's leadership. The about-face was an embarrassment to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who had personally intervened to get Sarah...

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